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Brazilian industry spreads its wings
BRAZIL is more than just about football, samba,
forests, beach parties and carnivals.
'Brazil is a country with a long established
industrial base,' says Mr Curado. 'Our industrialisation started way back in
the 1950s.'
And Embraer's history is a microcosm of the
nation's industrial history, Mr Curado insists.
'Right after WWII, a few air force officers had
the vision of not just having an air force fleet, but acquiring a full
domain of knowledge, which is more important than technology. Knowledge
allows you to develop whatever you want. Instead of a technological transfer
agreement from another country to build an aircraft under licence, we
established a research centre in 1948, and a school for aeronautic
engineering in 1950.'
Embraer was set up in 1969, about one generation
later.
'We started in 1969, basically to develop a very
small airplane for the Brazilian air force, a small transport airplane which
eventually became the Bandierate. Our success was due to a combination of
the technological base, knowledge base, and active partnership of the
Brazilian government as we started out as a state-owned company. It was only
much later that we became privatised.'
Mr Curado points out that Brazilian industrial
tradition goes beyond planemaking.
'We have many examples of excellence in industrial
development in Brazil. In banking automation, we are the state of the art.
In energy, we have the technology to tap oil reserves 4km below the sea,
including 2km of rock.'
Brazil, with a population of 189 million, is the
world's 10th largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest
in purchasing power. The country has enjoyed about 5 per cent economic
growth during the current decade, has over US$200 billion in reserves, and a
diversified foreign trade profile. But the US and Europe are still its
biggest trading partners, accounting for 15 and 20 per cent of total trade
respectively.
The country is now ranked among the four major
emerging economies, called BRIC (an acronym denoting Brazil, Russia, India,
China).
Mr Curado points out that Brazil has, until the
last 10 years, been largely preoccupied with its own internal economy and
market.
'It is only recently that we have become more
global in our outlook,' he adds. 'And this has helped boost the
competitiveness of the Brazilian industry tremendously. More people speak
English. Our import tax average has dropped from around 70 per cent 15 years
ago, to 17 per cent now.
'We have embraced free trade and removed market
protection. In short, we are modernising and preparing our industrial base
for the next millennium.'
The results have been good. Inflation has fallen
to about 4.5 to 6.5 per cent, while national debt has come down sharply
after laws were drawn up permitting state governments to limit spending
against revenues.
But the challenges remain.
'We still have a lot of work to do in the
education and income distribution front. We still have to improve
infrastructure and address energy concerns. A huge amount of our energy
comes from hydraulic plants - about 70 per cent - and as the country grows,
we will need to find better ways to get our energy without degrading the
environment. But we are tightening our laws.'
What is Brazil's place in the world?
'I won't say that we will be a superpower - it's
not in our spirit, Brazilians are very easy going and are peaceful people -
but we can definitely become a major player on the global stage,' says Mr
Curado. - 2008 November
1 BUSINESS
TIMES
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